United Nations Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres has appointed Jayathma Wickramanayake of Sri Lanka as his next Envoy on Youth. She will succeed Ahmad Alhendawi of Jordan to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his dedicated service in addressing the needs and rights of young people, bringing the work of the United Nations closer to them. The success of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development depends on empowering young people as rights-holders, agents of change and torchbearers.<\/p>\n
Having represented and motivated global youth development on an international level since the age of 21, notably during high-level United Nations initiatives including the declaration of World Youth Skills Day, Ms. Wickramanayake has also played a key role in transforming the youth development sector at the national level, notably through the creation of a large movement for civic and political engagement of young people named \u201cHashtag Generation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Presently working as an officer of the Sri Lanka Administrative Service, Ms. Wickramanayake has previously served as Secretary to the Secretary General of the Parliament of Sri Lanka (2016-2017), Project Officer-Youth, One-Text Initiative in Sri Lanka (2015-2016), Member and Youth Lead Negotiator, International Youth Task Force of the World Conference on Youth 2014 (2013-2014) and Official Youth Delegate to the United Nations, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Skills Development (2012-2013). She was furthermore a Senator in the Sri Lankan Youth Parliament (2013-2015).<\/p>\n
In this role, the Envoy on Youth is expected to expand the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ\u2019s youth engagement and advocacy efforts across all four pillars of work \u2013 sustainable development, human rights, peace and security and humanitarian action.<\/p>\n
The Envoy on Youth will play a lead role in realising the Secretary-General\u2019s vision on youth, which places young people as a cross-cutting priority of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ; ensures that young people\u2019s perspectives are reflected across all pillars of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ\u2019s work; and places young people\u2019s interests at the centre of the Secretary-General\u2019s agenda for crisis prevention and sustaining peace by leveraging their talents, energy and innovation in addressing youth challenges and fostering opportunities.<\/p>\n
Born in 1990, Ms. Wickramanayake is undertaking a\u00a0Master of Development Studies, at the University of Colombo and holds a Bachelor degree in Science, from the same university.<\/p>\n
Statement here:\u00a0https:\/\/goo.gl\/UvGoEL<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n